Battery Charger Recommendations for Large Capacity LiPos (6 cell, 10,000mAh +)

[teslahed]

Has anyone with experience got any recommendations for battery chargers for large capacity LiPos?

Ideally i want to be able to charge 2 x 10,000mAh 6 cell LiPos simultaneously.

I will be needing a high powered mains adapter as well. Either separate or combined, but i would like to be able to run from car batteries or generators in the field.

It';s for commercial use so i will not get away with modifying a computer power supply unfortunately.

[Revs]

To charge both those even at 1c you';re gonna need a 450-500w charger and PSU! That';s some heavy duty charging and I suspect it';ll cost a bomb.

If you don';t mind doing one at once, my charger would manage about 0.8c with one of those. It';s a SkyRC T6200 200w and I power it with a Ripmax 30A PSU. Both are actively cooled and work well, but they';re not industrial spec.

[Revs]

This one recons to be 500w.. http://www.progressiverc.com/the-surface-500w-combo.html

[Calomile]

Computer power supply (or more to the point server) is the best way to go - they frankly don';t make the PSUs for chargers into the 1200w range you';d need for parallel charging.

I have one of these: http://www.coolice.co.uk/cfs/charge-case-s.html - portable case, built in 4010duo and two 1200w power supplies with protection circuitry and the like. Just plug in a kettle lead and your lipos and away you go, wherever you are. Would highly recommend Ian, he does some quality work on these cases, all made to order.

[Calomile]

He also sells the modified PSUs separately if you wish to make your own portable solution.

[PaulJC]

Look in to building a power supply from server PSU';s, nice and cheap, stable and powerful, i have 3 in series which gives me 36v at 47A (1692w), these power 2 x iCharger 306b and will have 30000mah worth of 6S ready to go in under half an hour...

[teslahed]

I have one of these: http://www.coolice.co.uk/cfs/charge-case-s.html - portable case, built in 4010duo and two 1200w power supplies with protection circuitry and the like. Just plug in a kettle lead and your lipos and away you go, wherever you are. Would highly recommend Ian, he does some quality work on these cases, all made to order.

How much roughly do the charge cases cost? No Prices on his website.

[Calomile]

I';m not sure if there';s a reason for that so I';ll PM you what I paid.

[Nige8021]

Have a word with Paul at www.nexusmodels.co.uk 01604 631100 He';ll be able to advise the best setup 

[guest325]

If it were me I would probably be looking at a bit of an overkill on the basis that the extra would be there if you needed it!
Something like this:
http://www.progressiverc.com/the-ultimate-1500w-combo.html

[Hands0n]

Chris - have you looked at the range of EFuel   PSUs and Chargers?  ie. http://www.skyrc.com/index.php?route=product/brand&brand_id=8

The EFuel 30A will supply a continuous 30A supply into a charger.

Or the eFuel 1200W will deliver 50A continuous ... http://www.quadrocopter.com/eFuel-1200W50A-Power-Supply_p_1246.html

Couple up with one or more RS16 chargers maybe ... http://www.helipal.com/skyrc-racingstar-16-180w-digital-multifunctional-charger.html?osCsid=6spfg5m9b6tkelcc54bv2vfl46 

[teslahed]

For the mains adapter i have my eye on this;

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__22820__Turnigy_1200W_100_120V_Power_Supply_24VDC_50amp_.html

And for the charger one of these;

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__56096__iCharger_406DUO_1400W_Dual_Channel_6s_Balance_Charger.html

together these will allow me to charge 10,000mAh 6 cell LiPos at the fastest suggested safe charging rate of 2C (500 watts per LiPo, 2 LiPos simultaneously) which is what i require.

There would not be a lot of headroom (200 watts spare on the mains adapter assuming i am charging at 1kW total) but i have struggled to find mains adapters rated any higher.

This charger looks a bit nicer;

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__39656__iCharger_4010DUO_2000W_Dual_Channel_10S_Balance_Charger.html

But i am not sure it';s worth the extra cash and i can';t use the extra watts it';s rated to anyway without a better mains adapter.

Thanks for all the suggestions

[quadfather]

For the mains adapter i have my eye on this;

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__22820__Turnigy_1200W_100_120V_Power_Supply_24VDC_50amp_.html

That one is for 120V.  You want this one
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__22821__Turnigy_1200W_200_240V_Power_Supply_24VDC_50amp_.html

For the record, I have no idea if they are any good (or fit for purpose), just thought I';d point out the incorrect voltage.

[quadfather]

Something worth considering is redundancy, especially when you';re in the field.  You might be better of getting two identical chargers that can charge a 10Ah LiPo each, rather than one that could do two.  I';d imagine you';re paying a lot extra for a charger with such capacity compared to two individual ones.  Also, if that charger blows up you can';t do anything in the field.  With individual chargers you could at least charge one LiPo and keep going.  Food for thought perhaps.

[Beaver2206]

What would I be looking at for a charger that runs off of mains current (i.e without the additional PSU)?   I would only need to charge 16,000 6S lipos and am getting fed up with waiting four hours on a turnigy charger!  Are there any options out there to cut this time down but without breaking the bank?

Any advice would be much appreciated

[Allan]

I uses graupner polaron ex charger, expensive but well up to task 2x20 amp didn';t get the psu that goes with it but will be doing so as I keeping overloading my current one.

[bazzerh]

i know you dont want a psu but hobbyking do a pretty decent (so far for me) 400w charger and 540w dc supply for around £90 for both. you have got the flexibility to charge in the field then too with a leisure battery, or car battery if you feel like it.

[Beaver2206]

Had a good conversation with DroneFlight today who gave some good advice on his set up and the time it takes him to charge 6S lipos.  Went with a 1200W PSU set up in the end, though I should be able to get a 16,000 changed in about an hour, so probably worth going all out in the end.  Once I have it, I';ll do a little response back to see how I';m getting along.

Thanks for your advice guys

[Beaver2206]

The PSU and charger turned up today from DroneFlight.

I got the Thunder Power 1430c and eFuel 1200W PSU.

It charges 3S absolutely fine, though the charging unit crashes after about 1.5minutes when charging 6s at 1C.  They';re Tattu 16,000 and 10,000mah batteries.

Andrew has yet to get back to me, though I wondered if any of you guys had used similar kit in the past?  This one is a puzzler!